What a weekend we had at saki

We could hardly keep up with everything last weekend at saki! Even though we're pretty exhausted today, we have plenty of new memories to kick off our week thanks to ROOKIE, Tavi, Tiny Fireflies, everyone who came out for Creative Control, Joe McAdam, Owen, everyone who participated in the After Hours Concatenating Pedals show, especially Ben from Glad Cloud, Human Elephant, Jack & Ace, and Rob from Numero Group! And definitely everyone who came out to twiddle knobs, zine with us, or take in some music. It was really pretty cool. Read the nitty gritties and check out some pictures after the jump!

saki After Hours: Predictive Gaming this Friday!

Predictive Gaming for Substandard Films is an evening of entertainment that incorporates game show elements into a screening of a "so-bad-it's-good" style movie. Halfway between Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Scene It!, Predictive Gaming invites movie fans to place bets on the plot of a campy B-movie throughout the screening in hopes to take home fabulous prizes - like Schubas, Lincoln Hall & Metro guest list spots & saki gift certificates! So as to prevent precocious predictors from premeditating their prizewinning, the film being screened will not be announced in advance, but bad movie fans (and game show enthusiasts) must trust that saki has dug up a real winner!

Predictive Gaming for Substandard Films, the bad movie game show, is Friday, February 17th at 8pm, at saki.

RSVP on the book of faces if you wanna be all social media about it... As with all our events, Predictive Gaming is FREE & BYOB if you've got your ID. And yes, there WILL be popcorn.

saki in Time Out Chicago!

Madeline Nusser of Time Out Chicago had some nice things to say about us and our friends at Logan Hardware and Bucket O' Blood! Read Madelines "Record Store Renaissance" article for Time Out here! Madeline really seems to get what we've got going on here at saki, and we appreciate it. If you want to appreciate it too, you should come out for our saki After Hours: Predictive Gaming for Substandard Films event on Friday! The game starts at 8 and it's FREE. We'll supply the popcorn and the prizes, you just get to have fun and bring whatever libations you prefer... see you then!

saki Christmas Mansion WrapUp

Wow. I think everyone here agrees that Saturday night's saki After Hours was our most ambitious and successful event yet. We had a great turnout. Great food. Great music. So...much...fun! We assume those of you who attended will agree, especially the folks who didn't want to leave.

We first need to alphabetically thank:
Ami Saraiya & The Outcome
A.V. Club
Blue Ribbon Glee Club
Cellar Rat Wine
Epitonic
Goose Island Brewing
Grape Juice Records
I Am Logan Square
Matt, our Freak Out Room specialist & formerly secret weapon
Provenance Food and Wine

and all of you who brought cookies, brownies, ugly sweaters, and more Christmas cheer and enthusiasm that any small Logan Square gathering space should be allowed to have in one night.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. More after the jump.

saki After Hours: A Christmas Mansion with Ami Saraiya & the Outcome and Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man

saki is proud to announce the latest in its After Hours series: A Christmas Mansion Holiday Party. The time when all is bright, merry, and joyous, when movies and television remind us of the true meaning of the season. And we all warm a little in our hearts even as the biting freeze of a winter's day relentlessly attacks us like falling icicles from a shaken tree. On Saturday, December 17th, you can add one more bringer-of-good-tidings to that list of nostalgia driven entertainment when you come to enjoy saki's Christmas Mansion Party with performances by Ami Saraiya & the Outcome and Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man. If ever you wished that life could be more like it is in the movies, let us be your Christmas Genie. Below is a list of exactly what you won't want to miss.

The Party:
- sweater contest
- egg nog, snacks, other tastes of the season
- cookie exchange (bring your own cookies and share with others)
- Christmas Freak Out Room (you'll have to come here and find out)
- sing alongs
- games and other small forms of entertainment

The Performances:
Ami Saraiya and the Outcome will be performing for the release of a brand new record on that day, just in time for Christmas!


Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man will, of course, make their customary After Hours appearance. However, they are currently holed up in the DC/DI Department of Records and Record Keeping working on their own recordings and will be beaming in via "in person" with a Special Christmas Message.


Blue Ribbon Glee Club will be providing a capella versions of both punk rock tunes & holiday charmers to keep you singing along and moshing (don't knock over our fancy mansion-things).


Okay, just one more bit of exciting news: Epitonic will be recording all three performances! We love them!
Be sure to RSVP on facebook!

This Weekend @ saki!

We've got big plans at saki this weekend! I know we say that a lot but for real, people! We have an in-store with our twitter buddy, @Cinchel & Steve Krakow's (Plastic Crimewave) solo project, Solar Fox on Friday night, followed by our saki After Hours "A Christmas Mansion" holiday party on Saturday. The Christmas party is a lot like our big Halloween celebration if you were lucky enough to make it... our hosts Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man will deliver a special holiday message with performances by Ami Saraiya & The Outcome (celebrating the release of their new 7"), and our local favorites the Blue Ribbon Glee Club spreading some drunken punk-ass holiday cheer. There will also be an ugly sweater contest, holiday cookie exchange, snacks, drinks, games & a special "Christmas Freakout" room that you do not want to miss! As if that weren't enough, we'll follow it up with an Epitonic saki Session on Sunday with A Tundra & one of my personal favorite new discoveries of 2011, Pillars & Tongues! So get your tents ready and just camp out at saki this weekend. We'll keep you good and entertained, and probably a little tipsy if you're so inclined... see you this weekend!

Halloween Carnival this weekend!

If you don't already know, we're hosting our Halloween party this Saturday at saki as part of our saki After Hours series. This month it's the saki Halloween Carnival with musical guests, Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man and Thunderwing!

We're going to have raffle prizes and gifts from Schubas/LH, Shake Shop, The Whistler, The Burlington & Girls Rock! Chicago! AND some spooky and bizarre attractions for you to enjoy, including candy for kids AND adults! I hear there just might be a very attractive bearded lady in attendance as well... come on out and have some fun with us!

saki After Hours: Predictive Gaming for Substandard Films

On Friday September 30th, get ready to play the game that everyone is talking about (everyone we know, at least).

The next installment of saki After Hours is a special one. We are skipping the music this time (as we are preparing for a most glorious Halloween installment) and going with a movie. But, if we've learned anything from the Concatenating Pedals show, we'll know that Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man isn't going to just let a movie play without causing problems.

Which brings me to explain the rules of what we are calling Predictive Gaming for Substandard Films

Participants will be shown a terrible and mostly unknown film for which they will be asked, at predetermined key points, to wager upon the likelihood of an upcoming event. Participants will wager upon various unknowns such as: Who is going to die first? Where will the next scene take place? What will be the outcome of a particular story arc? Etc. They will be given a set of four potential outcomes from which to choose.

At the beginning of the game, a synopsis of the movie will be read, and participants will be provided with specialized poker chips for use in the wagering (bets will be place on a roulette style table). At the end of the game, the chips will be returned in exchange for stamps on a stamp card. Get enough stamps and you get free things!

Come one, come all! This is a special event because it is the test run of an event that will end up being held monthly at Schubas. For participting in this test (and helping us work out the kinks) each participant will receive three bonus stamps on their card. (Very nice!)

Friday, September 30th, 8 PM, Free, BYOB, We've got the popcorn. RSVP on facebook if you desire!

Epitonic saki Sessions in September!

September is shaping up to be a freaking great month around here! We're kicking off the month tonight with saki After Hours w/ Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man & Bigcolour. Tomorrow we've got Lakesigns & Roo Gatsby (former The Names That Spell), but here's the best part: We've got both Melissa Nadler and Telekinesis coming through to play Epitonic saki Sessions while they're in town! That's right, indie-blog darling Melissa Nadler is going to play for us at 4pm on Thursday, September 15th and Telekinesis (who are among Merge's stable of amazing new releases) are playing on Saturday, September 10th @ 5pm!

We've had less in-stores than usual recently, but I think we're making up for it here with nothing short of awesome acts playing saki in September! And stay tuned, we've got some more in the works that should be confirmed very soon! Check the blog/fbook/tweets/mailing list for more info.

Also, happy Labor Day, Amurrrica!

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saki After Hours with Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man & Bigcolour!

Hey folks, the details are coming in! Our first saki After Hours show is slated for September 2nd. There will be sets by Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man and their guest of the month, Bigcolour, followed by the audience participation portion of the show. As you may know from our last post on the topic, each after hours show will have a different guest and a different theme centered around audience participation. This month's concept will be Concatenating Pedals:

Amplifiers will form a large circle along the edges of the room. The musician attached to each amplifier will be situated directly across from their amplifier on the opposite side of the circle. The two will be connected by a chain of linked guitar pedals of different varieties, thereby filling the center of the circle with a web of cables and pedals. As the musicians play, the audience is asked to enter the circle and begin twisting and fiddling about; manipulating the sounds. For 20-40 minutes, suggested moods will be projected upon the wall as we try to create a cohesive, improvised, and collaborative piece of music, which will be recorded and made available to those who wish to have a copy.

So, you are cordially invited to join us on the 2nd at 8pm when saki ceases to be just a record store, and becomes a place where you can indulge in the inner depths of your imagination and explore new sonic territory with two of the best bands in town!

Doors at 8 PM
Free
BYOB (Bring a guitar pedal to use and we'll give you a beer!)